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'It's not the seaside, but nearly': Milan residents test out new urban 'beach'

AFP/The Local
AFP/The Local - [email protected]
'It's not the seaside, but nearly': Milan residents test out new urban 'beach'
Milan's new Lido Bam in the Porta Nuova district. All photos: Miguel Medina/AFP

Here's what the first visitors thought of a new city "beach" which opened this week in the heart of a Milan business district.

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Milan sun-worshippers, finally emerging from months of coronavirus lockdown, do not have to travel far to find a deckchair and a parasol: a new lido has opened downtown with skyscrapers as a backdrop.
 
It's not the seaside, concedes 22-year-old student Mauro Manara Rossino. "But we're nearly there, with some imagination!"
 
Lido Bam, or Bam Beach, appeared at the weekend in a park in Milan's Porta Nuova district, home to Italy's tallest skyscraper, the Unicredit Tower.
 
 

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Around 80 parasols are scattered across the park, with deckchairs spaced to respect the social distancing rules still in force since the virus lockdown began easing last month.
 
"It's a beautiful way of escaping the city routine," says Francesca Gatti, a 21-year-old economics student sunbathing with a friend.
 
 
The urban treat, an initiative of the park's owner, the Riccardo Catella Foundation, is free for the time being - but from next week entrance will cost will pay up to eight euros (about $9).
 
Rosalia Scarcella, a 45-year-old nurse, praised the sandless urban beach. After difficult months working through the pandemic crisis - which hit Italy far harder than most countries, claiming more than 34,000 lives -  "I needed to take a break," she said.
 
"For those who can't get away, it's a great alternative," she added.
 
 
Of Italy's 60 million people, around 34 million will take some holiday this year, a decrease of 13 percent from 2019, according to a survey released Wednesday by Coldiretti/Ixe.
 
Of those, 93 percent plan to stay in Italy, the highest proportion in at least a decade - and a quarter of them have opted to stay in their home region despite the lifting of travel bans.

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